2010 Archives: Bye-Bye, Summer. Hello, Sun Damage! Best Eco-Friendly Skin Lighteners, Repairers & Damn Good Camo
Ah, September. Back to work. Back to school. And looking back at you in the mirror is the evidence of how much fun you had in the sun for the past three months: Dark spots. Weird freckles. Not-so-fine lines.
We know what you did last summer and you shoulda worn a hat.
Once upon a time, we might have reached for a conventional prescription or over-the-counter skin lightener to combat this kind of sun damage. But now we know that their key ingredient—hydroquinone—is one of the suckiest suckies on our Big List.
Hydroquinone has been linked to cancer and neurotoxicity; it’s toxic to the immune system, a known skin irritant and allergen, an endocrine disruptor, and classified as an air pollutant and pesticide by the EPA.
And although it’s used for skin lightening, this stuff has the oh-so-ironic side effect of making the skin hyper-sensitive to the sun, so that the minute you go outside without the kind of head-to-toe, sun-shielding getup last spotted on Madonna, the spots come back.
Fun stuff.
But don’t fret, pet. We sussed the best botanical remedies, a DIY at-home treatment recipe and nearly $1,300 in giveaways to bring back your spring skin!
P.S. For our vegan friends: From now on, all vegan products featured on EcoStiletto will be indicated as such. Woot! (Or should we say, woof!)
C*Perfect Skin Organic Foaming Face Cleanser with Enzymes, Antioxidants & Vitamin C ($32)
Along with a veritable cornucopia of extracts from alpha-hydroxic apples to vitamin C-rich watermelon, C*Perfect Skin Organic Foaming Face Cleanser calls on the exfoliating enzyme papain, naturally derived from the papaya fruit, to help reduce freckles and brown spots associated with sun damage.
Cygalle Licorice Spice Face Wash ($22 two-ounce trial size)
Strange as it may seem, the same root that inspired your childhood Twizzlers has been used for centuries—especially in China—to combat sun and environmental damage. Part of Cygalle Dias’ made-to-order organic skincare line, which was popularized as a mobile-spa-to-the-stars service for greenies like Rosario Dawson, the Licorice Spice Face Wash is also enriched with antioxidant powerhouses vitamins C and E.
Anthology West Indies Facial Scrub ($12.95) (PETA approved)
If you want to put your best face forward, you’ve got to inspire cell turnover. How best to do that? Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! (But not too hard.) We love Anthology West Indies Facial Scrub, which utilizes poppy seeds rather than plastic beads to create an exfoliating powder that you customize to your skin type by adding just the right amount of water. Plus all of Anthology’s ingredients are USDA Certified Organic and presented in recycled and recyclable glass jars that are pretty enough to display.
EmerginC Scientific Organics Spirulina Toner ($30)
That blue-green algae isn’t just for your protein shake. Packed with amino acids and enzymes, spirulina is the perfect addition to EmerginC’s potent cocktail of antioxidant ingredients—from green tea to grape stem cells—that remove dead cells, nourish and rebalance the skin.
Amala Rejuvenating Eye Cream ($116)
Crème de la Mer’s got nothing on eco, anymore. For those of you who want luxury and sustainability, check out Amala’s ridiculously gorgeous new line of head-to-toe skincare, where the costs go into sustainably sourced organic ingredients. Sun squint left you with spiders next to your eyes? Try Amala’s Rejuvenating Eye Cream, which an apothecary’s worth of amazing natural ingredients to smooth fine lines, including the aforementioned licorice root, which brightens dark undereye circles, to boot!
WEEK OF 2.7 ONE FREE ECOSTILETTO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBER WILL WIN A $116 AMALA REJUVENATING EYE CREAM!
Golden Path Alchemy Illuminate Herbal Mask ($22) Now sold in EcoStilettoSHOP!
Mushrooms and champagne? Sounds like the perfect brunch, but this combination’s even more appetizing on than in. Shiitake contains skin-lightening, antioxidant-rich kojic acid, and it’s the key ingredient in Alchemy’s Illuminate Herbal Mask. Use it straight from the jar, or mix with tartaric-acid rich champagne to even better promote cellular growth and skin exfoliation. Cheers!
Cleanse, tone, mask, then bring out the big guns with powerful corrective serums that work best overnight. Cult favorite Arcona’s Lightening Drops reduce melasma with kojic and azelaic acid, and lighten and brighten skin with antioxidant vitamin C.
Tammy Fender Skin Tone Lightening System ($165.00)
There’s a reason Tammy Fender has a following. The legendary aesthetician and holistic skincare expert researched Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine to create a line of targeted treatments that address specific skin concerns. Tammy’s products don’t come cheap, but with potent organic ingredients like Indian amla and ferulic acid, her two-product Skin Tone Lightening System just might be the one-two punch your sun damaged skin needs.
La Isha Age Spot Eraser ($45) (PETA certified)
Organic, cold-pressed pomegranate seed oil is a key ingredient in La Isha’s oil-based Age Spot Eraser, which helps to gradually fade age spots and discoloration. And, as with all of La Isha’s aromatherapeutic products, the stuff smells amazing. Yum!
Lily Morgan has been a USDA certified organic grower and skin care manufacturer since 1986 and in that time, she’s pretty much seen the effects of fresh, pure ingredients on every type of skin condition. Her secret to eradicating sun damage? Buttermilk and horseradish.
Do try this at home: Grate ¼ cup fresh horseradish and mix it with 1/8 cup fresh buttermilk to create a paste that will adhere to your skin. Leave it on for 20 minutes, rinse and repeat weekly for amazing results.
The recipe is from Lily’s book Beauty, Health and Happiness: A Way of Life, which contains more than 100 recipes. But for lazybones like us, Lily’s made-to-order skincare’s pretty darned fabulous, as well.
Miracle Skin Transformer SPF 20 ($48)
It took three months of sun-worship to get here; it’ll take some time to get your skin back. Whatever your recipe or remedy, you’ll need some camo in the meantime.
Typically, we steer clear of products that claim “miracle” on their packaging. And, although we were assured that the Miracle Skin Transformer SPF 20 was free of petrochems, parabens and all other baddies on our Big List, a quick glance at their website—chock full of the kind of before-and-after pictures that worked so well for Botox—left us skeptical. That was, until we tried a free sample and found it truly miraculous, for lack of a better word. It feels like the lightest of light tinted mattifiers, but it actually conceals—making dark spots lighter and erasing the red—while plumping tiny lines. A splash of blush and you’re good to glow.
